Dec 6, 2007

But will he dance at his inaugural?*

As anticipated, Mitt Romney tried to have his John Kennedy moment, delivering a 20-minute speech today at Texas A&M in which he pledged to represent Americans of every faith if he is fortunate enough to become president.

Don't worry, my Christian brothers, he won't win.

Lines like this one tell me he's desperate: Americans do not respect believers of convenience.

Unless it's convenient to do so... All I can think about each time I watch Romney speak is the crusty Republican man from New Hampshire who refused to shake his hand because he was Mormon.

Romney's stiff delivery did little to help his cause. Also, he didn't repeat that oft-quoted line from the JFK speech (also given in Texas) that he is an "American running for president, not a Catholic (Mormon) running for president."

Romney hit a single in what should have been his showcase moment. Better luck next time.

*Perhaps the reason Romney avoided a true transmogrification into Kennedy is that Kennedy, for good or ill, meant what he said. The purpose of Romney's speech wasn't to reach out broadly but to assuage the fears of a small but important segment of the voting public: the evangelical Christian. As a result, we have a man saying he'll represent everybody by promoting no particular faith at the same time he is assuring Christians he will promote faith and kick down the wall of separation he says has kept God out of public life.

Here's how Romney says it: “In recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America—the religion of secularism. They are wrong.”

Considering the point about faith Romney was purportedly making, he sure sounds like a believer of convenience to me.